chief whip
Parliamentary discipline officer
A chief whip is a senior official in a legislative body responsible for maintaining party discipline and ensuring members vote according to party lines.
The chief whip counts votes, manages attendance, and communicates between party leadership and rank-and-file members.
The term comes from fox hunting, where the "whipper-in" keeps the hounds from straying.
The chief whip warned that rebels would face consequences.
- parliamentNational legislative assembly
- House of CommonsElected parliamentary chamber
- party disciplineLegislators following leadership's position
- disciplineTrained self-control or specialty
- votesFormal choices recorded
lobby · smoke filled room · commons · party · cabinet · majority · frontbench · division · voting bloc · lash · enforcer · arm twisting · Westminster · speaker · caucus · coalition · rebellion · patronage
- UK PoliticsHouse of Commons, House of Lords, MP, Tory, Downing Street
- Legislative LeadersSpeaker of the House, Senate leader, majority leader, minority leader, floor leader
- legislatorslegislator, lawmaker, member of parliament, state senator, assemblyman
- party leadersparty leader, party chair, party boss, party secretary, general secretary
- UK OfficialsMP, cabinet minister, cabinet member, foreign secretary, prime minister
chief whipmaverick
Independent-minded rule-breaker
defector · independent · free agent · loose cannon · dissenter
chief, whip, chiefs, whips, chieftain, chieftaincy, chiefly, whipped, whipping